HomeNewsBriefVenezuela-Colombia Border Could See Rise in Drug Trafficking
BRIEF

Venezuela-Colombia Border Could See Rise in Drug Trafficking

COLOMBIA / 30 MAR 2016 BY VENEZUELA INVESTIGATIVE UNIT EN

A recent report on drug trafficking in Venezuelan border state Zulia draws attention to a key cocaine corridor that may become increasingly active in the near future.

There are various routes by which drug shipments are smuggled from Colombia into Zulia, local commander for the Bolivarian National Guard (Guardia Nacional Bolivariana - GNB) Alejandro Pérez Gámez told Panorama in a recent report.

One of the main routes begins in the small town of Paraguachón -- in the northern Colombian department of La Guajira. Drug shipments are then moved along the Limón River towards the area south of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, and into the Zulia state capital Maracaibo.

From this city, drugs are frequently moved eastward across Lake Maracaibo's General Rafael Urdaneta bridge and are then smuggled by highway into other Venezuelan states, particularly Lara and Falcón.

Some of the drugs are then sold on the local market, while other loads are trafficked to central Venezuela or to the Caribbean. Other highways are also used to move drugs into and out of the state of Tachira, which borders Zulia to the south.

SEE ALSO:  Venezuela News and Profiles

So far in 2016, 26 people have been arrested on drug trafficking charges in Zulia state, Panorama reported.

While Pérez Gámez described Venezuela as a transit nation for illegal drugs, statistics show that the country, including Zulia state, is also a producer of narcotics. This year alone, three drug laboratories have been destroyed in the Zulia municipality of Jesús María Semprum. The same municipality also saw the discovery of 20 drug laboratories in the month of August 2014, according to GNB statistics.

16-03-29-Zulia

A map of the drug trafficking route through Zulia state, Venezuela. Via Panorama

InSight Crime Analysis

Zulia's position on the Colombian border makes it a highly strategic entry point for Colombian drug shipments, and this trend will probably only intensify in the short term.

Drug smuggling into Venezuela has traditionally taken place along two main routes. Firstly, there is the so-called "hot route," identified in Panorama's report, which goes through Zulia and up into Maracaibo. Then there is the "cold route," which involves smuggling drugs into Venezuelan border city San Cristóbal, then across the mountains to national capital Caracas.

These routes could soon see increased activity thanks to rising cocaine production in neighboring Colombia, which recently regained its position as the world's number one coca cultivator. According to US government figures, there were an estimated 159,000 hectares of coca crops in the country in 2015, with a potential to produce 420 metric tons of cocaine -- the highest numbers seen since 2007.

SEE ALSO:  Colombia News and Profiles

Zulia state is prime territory for increased traffic due to its location across the border from the Colombian sub-region of Catatumbo, in Norte de Santander department. US embassy sources told InSight Crime that Catatumbo has seen the greatest growth in cocaine production in Colombia over the past few years, and it may now be the biggest producer of coca leaf and cocaine hydrochloride in the country.

Colombian rebel groups control much of the border and have close ties to security forces in the region, increasing the potential for expansion of drug trafficking activities. Zulia state is allegedly a key base for top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, alias "Timochenko," and for members of the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional - ELN)'s Central Command (Comando Central - COCE).

Another reason that Zulia may be seeing an increase in drug trafficking is the official closing of the main Colombia-Venezuela border crossing at Tachira by the Venezuelan government in August 2015. This may have pushed drug trafficking activity north into Zulia.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ELITES AND CRIME / 22 MAR 2023

The resignation of Venezuela's Oil Minister, Tareck El Aissami, after the arrest of a close ally may precede a sensational…

ECUADOR / 13 OCT 2022

US dollars have been flooding into Venezuela and Ecuador, with authorities unaware of how widespread their use has become…

COCAINE EUROPE / 2 DEC 2022

An increase in seizures of tusi, or pink cocaine, in Spain could mean that this synthetic drug cocktail could be…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…